Local teddy bear bomb becomes national news

A bomb squad from Gaston County came to Cleveland County on Thursday to dispose of a device. (Photo courtesy Lem Lynch Photography)

By Staff and wire reports

Published: Friday, November 22, 2013 at 07:08 PM.

A bomb discovered inside a teddy bear in Cleveland County this week became national news Friday.

News agencies including CNN, ABC News and USA Today reported on the explosive device inside a toy originally found by a newspaper deliveryman for The Star, which first reported the story Thursday.

The deliveryman, Anthony Cannon, said Friday he found the toy before dawn on his route near Lattimore and later circled back to pick it up.

“I thought it was real unusual to be sitting in the middle of the road,” Cannon, 42, said. “It was pitch-black out there. When I picked the bear up, some sort of container fell out.”

Cannon said he didn’t realize he was holding an improvised explosive device, so he left the bear behind and put the cylindrical container in his car and drove to his cousin’s Shelby home to examine the device.

He said it was a small, liquid-filled bottle covered with tape with some wires coming out of it. He set the device on the porch and called 911.

A bomb squad from Gastonia arrived and defused the device.

Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman said Cannon was lucky.

"It could have caused personal injury had the device activated," Norman said.

The bomb was deactivated and sent to a lab. Federal investigators are inspecting the device, looking for clues as to who made it.

Cannon said he is happy he picked the bear up out of the road.

"If a kid had walked down the road and seen that bear, I'm pretty sure they would have picked it up," he said.

It was the second time this year a bomb was discovered in the Lattimore area. A man discovered a bomb in April while mowing his lawn. That bomb was also defused by authorities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A bomb discovered inside a teddy bear in Cleveland County this week became national news Friday.

News agencies including CNN, ABC News and USA Today reported on the explosive device inside a toy originally found by a newspaper deliveryman for The Star, which first reported the story Thursday.

The deliveryman, Anthony Cannon, said Friday he found the toy before dawn on his route near Lattimore and later circled back to pick it up.

“I thought it was real unusual to be sitting in the middle of the road,” Cannon, 42, said. “It was pitch-black out there. When I picked the bear up, some sort of container fell out.”

Cannon said he didn’t realize he was holding an improvised explosive device, so he left the bear behind and put the cylindrical container in his car and drove to his cousin’s Shelby home to examine the device.

He said it was a small, liquid-filled bottle covered with tape with some wires coming out of it. He set the device on the porch and called 911.

A bomb squad from Gastonia arrived and defused the device.

Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman said Cannon was lucky.

"It could have caused personal injury had the device activated," Norman said.

The bomb was deactivated and sent to a lab. Federal investigators are inspecting the device, looking for clues as to who made it.

Cannon said he is happy he picked the bear up out of the road.

"If a kid had walked down the road and seen that bear, I'm pretty sure they would have picked it up," he said.

It was the second time this year a bomb was discovered in the Lattimore area. A man discovered a bomb in April while mowing his lawn. That bomb was also defused by authorities.